Search form

Search form

The Renewable Fuels Association wants the Environmental Protection Agency to consider a recent study on the effect of E15 on light-duty vehicles from model years 1994 through 2000 before making a decision on the use of E15, writes RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen. Engineering firm Ricardo, which conducted the study, concluded that using E15 "should not adversely affect properly engineered vehicles nor should it cause them to perform in a sub-optimal manner when compared to their performance using E10 blends." These findings, along with ethanol's environmental, economic and national security benefits, should present a compelling case for the EPA not to restrict E15 to newer cars, Dinneen added.

Related Summaries

E15 is cleared by the Environmental Protection Agency for use in vehicle model years 2001 and newer, as well as in all flex-fuel vehicles, writes Ben Wojdyla in a list of E15 facts. Although some industries urge caution over the use of E15, a Kettering University study found it safe in all cars from the 1995 model year forward, Wojdyla notes. Many carmakers do not issue warranty coverage for any damage linked to E15, but General Motors and Ford Motor have certified their vehicles for E15 use starting with the 2012 and 2013 model years, respectively, Wojdyla states.

The Renewable Fuels Association is downplaying AAA's suggestion that E15 be pulled from the market because it might damage car engines. "There are no corrosive issues with E15. If there's an issue with E15, we're going to know about it and the [Environmental Protection Agency] is going to know about it," said Bob Dinneen, RFA president and CEO. Scott Zaremba, who has been selling E15 in Kansas since July, says he has not received a single complaint from customers regarding the blend.

The Environmental Protection Agency's segregated approach to E15 will "confuse gasoline marketers, retailers and consumers, while making it more difficult for the nation to transition from imported oil to clean-burning, American-made renewable fuels," argues Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association. The EPA's decision to restrict E15 to newer cars is unjustifiable, writes Dinneen, as a slew of studies have shown the blend to be safe for all light-duty vehicles.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation have issued rules on fuel economy, and, by extension, greenhouse-gas emissions, for light-duty vehicles with model years 2012 to 2016. The new rules will raise the mileage standards from an average of 27.3 mpg for 2011 model-year cars and light trucks to 35.5 mpg for 2016 models. The incremental gains in fuel efficiency over the five-year period are estimated to save 1.8 billion barrels of oil and eliminate 960 million metric tons of greenhouse-gas emissions by 2016, the agencies said.

The Renewable Fuels Association wants the Environmental Protection Agency to explain its focus on newer model years in limiting the use of higher ethanol blends. Existing data show "no adverse effects of higher-level blends in any vehicles, regardless [of] their vintage," said RFA CEO and President Bob Dinneen. Retailers also would be reluctant to offer both an E15 blend for newer models and a lower blend for older cars, and that "could effectively result in no increase in ethanol use, despite an approval of higher-level blends," Dinneen said.